I * i 



*'( (, 



Mr 



LIBRARY O^CONGRESS. 

-C7^«p.. J^!-^- 3.13 
Shelf .. ^^^2^- 



TJNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE THOMERY SYSTEM 



GRAPE CULTURE. 



FROM THE FRENCH. 



By M. Du BREUIL 



^1 



^ 




NEW YORK: 
GEO. E. WOODWARD & CO., 31 BROAD STREET; 

ORANGE JUDD CO., 245 BROADWAY. 



. /P-ri, 



' -a 






.V 



Sb 



PRACTICAL STANDARD PUBLICATIONS 

or 

GEO. E. WOODWARD. 



Harney's Barns, Outbuildings and Fences. 

J a8t published and containing Designs and Plans of Stables, 
Farm Barns, Outbuildings, ' Gates, Gateways, Fences, . StabI 
Fittings and Furniture, fully described with nearly 200 DIub 
irations. Royal quarto extra. Post-paid, Stx Dollabs. 

Woodward's National Architect. 

1,000 DesignB, Plans and Details, for Country, Suburban and YUlagii 
Houses, with Perspective Views, front and side elevations, eectlous, fSD 
detail drawings, sneciflcations, and efctimates. Also, detaO drawings to 
working scale, of Brackets, Cornices, French Roofs, Sectional and Fram- 
ing Plans of French Roofs, Dormer Windows for French Roofs, Bay 
Endows, Inside t^hutters, French Windows, Balconies, Verandas, 
Porches, Lattice Work. Stalra. Newels, Balusters, Slidinjf Doors, Window 
Oasinga, Gable Finish, Finials, Creatines, Canopies. Hoods, Observa- 
tories, Base, Architraves. Plaster Finish, Cornices, Ceilings, Hard Wood 
Mantelii, and all that is required by a Builder to ^design, specify, erect 
and finish in the most approved style. One superb quarto volume, post 

paid, TWELYB DOLLAKS. 

Woodward's Cottages and Farm Houses. 

188 DeslguB and Plans of low-priced Cottages, Farm-HouMB and Out- 
Buildings. Post-paid, $1 50. 

Woodward's Suburban and Country Houses. 

70 Designs and Plans and numerflos examples of.'.the French Roof. Post- 
paid $l!50. 

Woodward's Country Honnes. 

160 Designs and Plana, with DescrlpUons of the manner of constmct- 
\ng Balloon Frames. Post-paid, $1.50. 

Woodward's Graperies A, Horticultural Buildings. 

With Plans for Hot and Cold Graperies. CoBservatorleB, Orchard Hoaset, 
Forcing Houses, Cold Pits, Hot Beds, &c. Post-paid, $1.60. 

Wheeler's Homes for the People. 

100 Original Dealgns, wUh ftill descriptions and constructive nnd mleoel- 
lanoous details. Post-paid, :|8.00. 

Wheeler's Rural Homes. 

Original Plans and Designs, and faU Directions for Desii^tng, Building, 
Heating, and Pumlshlng, and Form of Contract and Speclficatlono. 

Post-paid, 12.00. 

Jacques' Manual for the House. 

How to Build Dwellings, Barns, Stables and OotbaUdloga of aU kkidfl. 
IK Designs and- Plans. Post-paid. $1.60. 

Address, ORANGE JUDD & CO., Publishers, 

249 Broadway,., New Yorlc. 



PRACTICAL STANDARD PUBLICATIONS 

OF 
0-2:0. JS. -WOOX'"W-AIi,I>. 



Hussey's National Cottage Architecture. 

New and Original Designs, Working Scale Drawings, and Det&ila for all 
Stvles of low-priced Houses, with specifications and Cost, Jnflt pub- 
lished. Royal quarto. Post-paid, $6.00. 

Monckton's National Stair-Builder. 

A complotfl work on Stair-feuilding and Hand-Raillup. Pnlly Bxpialned 
and Illustrated by large Scale Diagrams, in two colors, with Designs far 
Stair-Cases, Newels, Balusters and Hand-Rails. Royal quarto. Post- 
paid, $e.oo. 

Monckton's National Carpenter and Joiner. 

A complete work, covering the whole science of Carpentry, J0IJ1M7, 
Rooting, Framing, etc. Tally Explained and Illustrated by larg« Seal* 
Diagrams, in two colors. Royal quarto. Past-paid, $6.00. 
1 — . 
Copley's Plain and Ornamental Alphabets, 

with examples iu every style also, the Mechanical and Analytical Con 
struction or Letters. Fi<ruro8, and Titles, and designs for Titles, Ciphers, 
Monograms, Borders, Compasses. Flourishes, Etc. Designed as a text- 
book for the use of Drau<?ht8men, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Ajchitecte, 
Kngravers, Designers, Sign I'aiuiers. Sch<v)l8, etc. Drawn and Arranged 
!■ Frederick S. Coplet. Post-paid, $3.00, 

Eveleth's School-House Architecture. 

A new and original work, containing Seventeen Designs for Sctaool- 
Houses, 67 plates with Perspectives, Elevations, Plans, Sections. DetaiU, 
and Specifications, all drawn to working scale, with methods of headiig 
vtd ventilatioa Large quarto. Post-paid, Sue Dollars. 

The Dog- 
By DiNKB, Mathew <fe HuTCHrNSON. Compiled and edited By Fhamc 
EOBKSTBB. Containing ftiU instructions in all that relates to the Breed- 
ig. Rearing. Breaking. Kenneling and Conditioning of Dogs, with valua- 
ble recipes for the treatment of all diseases. Illustrated. Post octava 
Post-paid, Three Dollars. 

The Dead Shot : 

or. Sportsman's Complete Guide ; a Trt^ttse on the use of the Gun, wita 
Rudimentary and Finishing Lessons in the Art of Shooting Qaipe of all 
kinds. ByMABKSMAN. Post-paid, $1.75. 

The Crack Shot : 

or, Young R.I'^man'B Completa Guide: being a Treatise on the use of 
the Rifle, with Lessons, Including a full de'scrlption of the latest Improved 
breech-loading weapons ; rules and regulations for Target Practice, and 
directions for Uontuig Qame. By Edward C. Barbeb. Post-paid, $175. 

Gun, Rod and Saddle. 

Nearly fifty practical articles on subjects connected wttb Fishing, Shoot- 
ing, Racing, Trotting, etc. Post-paid, $l.oa 

AddreBs, ORANGE JUDD & CO., Publishers, 

245 Broadway, New Yorli. 



CONTKNTS. Ill 



The Thomery System of Grape Culture. 

(This is the famous system under which the splendid Chasselas de Fontalne- 
bleau Grapes are produced ; it is the metliod advocated by Dr. Grant. The ac- 
count is literally translated from Du Breuil's Cours d'Arboriculture, and is the 
only complete account which can be found— at least so says the Frenclmian, 
Rendu, in his " Ampelographie Francaise," and he ought to know.) 

PAOB 

Cultivation of the Vine upon Trellises, in Northern and Central 

France, according to the New Methods in use at Thomery, . 5 

Form to be given to the Trellises, 7 

Horizontal Cordon of Thomery, 

Horizontal Cordon of Charmeux, 13 

Vertical Cordon, 15 

Vertical Cordon with alternate Shoots, 16 

Cultivation of Trellised Vines arranged in the form of the Verti- 
cal Cordon with opposite Shoots, I'J 

Walls proper for the Trellis, 19 

Exposure of the Walls, 32 

Propagation of the Vine, 22 

Graft, 24 

Plantation and Process of Bedding or Laying the Trellised Vine — 

First Year, 25 

Second Year of the Plantation, 29 

Third Year, 30 

Method of Pruning adopted for the Vertically Trellised Vine 

with opposite Shoots — Construction of the Frame — First Year, 33 

Second Year, 30 

Third Year, 33 

Fourih Year Jj9 

Care necessary to the Lateral Branches — First Year, . . .40 
Dis'':(ld;ng (he Lateral Branches or Ccursons, . . . .43 

Pinching the Shoots, 44 

Manner of fastening the Shoots in Summer, . . . .45 



IV CONTENTS. 

FAOB 

Eene-wal of the Coursons, . . . . , . . . ■ 45 

Replacement of the Spurs (Coursons), 46 

Care of the Grapes, 46 

Suppression of the Superfluous Branches, 4() 

Thinning the Branches, 46 

Gathering the Leaves, 47 

Protections, 48 

Annular Incision, 48 

Renewal of the Trellised Vine, 48 

Culture of Table Grapes in the Open Air, 51 

Culture of Table Grapes in Southern France, . . . .52 

Diseases of the Vine — Destructive Animals and Insects, . . 53 
Gathering and Preservation — Fresh Grapes, . . . .55 

Dried Grapes — Raieinfl, . i . ^ 



0ULTIVATI0I5' OF THE VINE UPON TRELLISES (EN 
TREILLE) IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL FRANCE, 
ACCORDING TO THE NEW METHODS IN USE AT 
THOMERY,* 

The table grape cultivated in the open air acquires often in 
Central, and with greater reason in Northern France, only an 
imperfect maturity and mediocre quality, for want of proper 
and sufficiently prolonged heat during the summer. The vine 
starts with vigor, but its growth is too much prolonged, and 
the ripening is not completed by the first cold weather of the 
autumn ; for it is only when the sap channels cease to feed the 
clusters that the grape begins to ripen. This prolonged vegeta- 
tion is also the reason why the shoots are but imperfectly 
formed, or matured by the August heat, and why the vintage 
of the next year is less abundant. To avoid this capse of fail- 
are, the vine is disposed in the form of a trellis^ upon walls 
placed so as to enjoy the best exposure, and soils are chosen of 
a light or medium nature, which are easily drained and 
warmed ; lastly a series of operations is applied to the vine, 
the result of which is to maintain it in a state of moderate 
vigor, and above all to diminish the period of its yearly vege- 
tation. The trellis of the Chateau of Fontainebleau was tho 
first which, in its culture, taken as a whole, best fulfilled the 

* The first trellises at Thomery were established about 120 years ago by a culti- 
vator named Charmeux, grandfather of the present JI. Baptiste Rose Charmeux. 
He built the first wall for the purpose, leaving in the centre, according to a condi- 
Kou imposed upon him, a gate for the passage of the chase. 

5 



6 



THE TIIOMEEY SYSTEM 



conditions wLich we have just indicated, and it has bee.u 
chosen for a model by all the authors who have written 
upon the cultivation of the vine eti espalier. This trel- 
lis, 1,500 yards in lengtli, was put up nearly a century ago, 
and was restored about the year 1809 under the direction of 
Monsieur Lelieur. But long before the last named period, the 
inhabitants of Thomery, a village five miles distant from Fon- 
tainebleau, were adopting entirely this method of culture. They 
found in it so much advantage that they finished by covering 
with walls intended for the vine the greatest part of the terri 
tory of the Commune. 

This culture at the present time extends over more thaa 
3,200 acres, and produces on an average a million kilogrammes 
of grapes. It is the delicious produce of these trellises which 
are sold at Paris under the name of Chasselas de Fontainebleau., 
Fig. 1. Encouraged by their success, these intelligent husbam) 




Mg. 1. 



OF GEAPE CtlLTUKE. < 

men have continued to perfect their processes, and the greater 
part of their trellises are at the present time arranged and main- 
tained much better than those of Fontainebleau. The reader, 
however, would he in error should he believe that the success 
of this method at Thomery is due to the soil, to the climate, or 
to the exposure of this locality being particularly suitable to 
the vine. The soil through most of the commune is of a clayey 
nature, and retains a slight dampness unfavorable to tlie quality 
of the grape. The ground is generally inclined to the north- 
east, and, lastly, the neighborhood of the forest, by which the 
commune is surrounded on one side, and that of the Ssine, by 
which it is bounded on the other, maintain a humid atm.jsphere 
very injurious to the vine. 

It is chietly to the skill of the cultivators that we must 
attribute such happy results. We shall, therefore, describe the 
mode of culture practised by them, and recommend it for the 
climate of the centre and the north of France. 

FoKM TO BE GIVEN TO THE Trellises. — The form the most 
commonly adopted until quite lately has been that of a simple 




Fig. 2. 

horizontal branch {en cordon horizontal simj)7e). Fig. 2. It ia 
the best form for allowing tlie action of the sap to spread 



8 THE THOMEEY SYSTEM 

equally toward all points of the plant, and at the same timo 
it occupies without loss of space all the surface of the wall. 
But these cordons, or arms^ must be subjected to certain con- 
ditions. 

First. The two arms should present exactly the same length, 
or else it will be seen that the longer arm will absorb the 
greater part of the sap and soon destroy the shorter. More- 
over, the shoots which these arms bear should spring only 
from the upper surface and at regular intervals of from seven 
to eight inches. 

Second. The entire length of the arms developed by the same 
stock should not pass certain limits, for if they are permitted, 
as is often the case, to attain a length of from 32 to 48 feet, 
the sap tends principally toward the extremities, the shoots 
growing upon these points are too vigorous, while those nearer 
the origin of the arms become feeble and finally wither. It is 
much more profitable to increase the number of stocks against 
the walls, and to concentrate the action of the sap in a less extent 
of branches. In light soils and to varieties of ordinary strength, 
an average length of 52 inches is given to each one of the arms 
(or cordons) of the same stock. This, in very fertile soils, may 
be increased to 66 inches. With respect to very hardy varie- 
tieit, as the Frankenthal, a length of from Y8 to 97 inches is 
allowed. That adopted at Thomery is commonly 93 inches. 

Third. The same stock should not bear many cordons one 
above the pther, for the sap tending principally to the upper 
cordons, those beneath will remain weak. 

Fourth. In many gardens may yet be seen vines fixed to the 
upper part of walls against which are trained different sorts of 
fruit trees. This is a very bad arrangement. If the cordon is 
placed in the most favorable condition for ripening the grape, 
that is 19 inches lower than the coping of the wall, the foliage 
of the vine shadows the trees trained below and condemns from 
11 to 15 inches of their tops to complete sterility. Moreover, 
they deprive these trees of the influence of the rains and dews 
of summer. If, in order to avoid these inconveniences, the 
cordon is placed above the coping of the wall, it is only with 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 9 

great difficulty that the clusters, no longer protected, arrive at 
maturity. It is better, then, entirely to abandon this arrange- 
ment, to devote a certain space of wall to the vine, and to pro- 
ceed in such a manner that this shall be entirely covered. Tliis 
is what has been done for the trellis of Fontainebleau, and those 
of Thomery, by means of the following forms. 

Horizontal Cokdon of Thomeey. Fig. 3.— Each vine- 
stock taken by itself presents exactly the arrangement of 
the simple horizontal cordon. That which constitutes the 
Thomery system is the position of the cordons with regard 
to each other. The wall is covered from summit to base with 
cordons of the same length placed one over the other, and sup- 
plied by vine stocks planted at regular distances. 

To construct this trellis we first determine the distance to be 
preserved between each cordon. As the space is to be tilled by 
shoots which spring from the upper surtace of the cordons, it 
should be such that the shoots may reach a development suffi- 
cient to maintain the requisite degree of strength in the vine, 
without, however, passing the upper cordon, for it would, in 
that case, be shaded too much. Experience has shown that a 
distance of from 17 to 20 inches is, in the greater number of 
cases, sufficient, and that to this height the shoots may be 
deprived of their buds without diminishing the strength of the 
vine. This distance, may, however, be augmented for very 
hardy varieties in very fertile soils by from 4 to G inches. 
Monsieur Felix Malot has established at Montreuil a trellis, the 
cordons of which being placed at a distance of only 15 inches 
from each other, render it necessary to stop the shoots as soon 
as they have attained that length. The sap from the roots 
being concentrated in a smaller space, he obtains, in general, 
larger bunches ; but this detracts from the strength of the vine 
and the duration of the trellis, and the growth of the grapes 
occupying a longer period, they do not ripen so well. The cul- 
tivators of Thomery prefer smaller bundles more equally rij eneJ. 
It will next be proper to decide the height of the wall, that we 
may know the number of cordons to be erected. Supposing 
that, like almost all those of Thomery, this wall is 8t' feet in 



10 



THE THOMEEY SYSTEM 

Fig. 3. [H w 




OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



11 



b eight,* by dividing this number by 17 inches (the distance of 
tlie cordons from each otlier), we obtain just six inches. The 
first cordon being established at 15 inches from the ground, 
we shall then be able to place upon our wall five cordons. 

As to the distance to be preserved between the stocks, that 
is necessarily determined— first, by the length to which the 
two arms are to be allowed to grow ; and secondly, by the 
number of cordons one above the other. Let us suppose this 
number to be five, and tlie total length of the two arms to be 
8 ft. 10 in. To know the distance sought, divide the total length 
by the number of cordons: we obtain 20.12 inches, which we 
have adopted for our figure. At Thomery, where the cordons 
have only a length of 88.8 inches ; the stocks are planted at 
internals of seventeen inches. It might happen that the wall 
for the trellis might be less than 8^ feet in height, and that the 
number of cordons being reduced from five to three, the dis- 
tance between the stocks will then be 33.99 inches. But an 
interval so great exposes the trellis to a degree of growth 
prejudicial to the ripening of the grape ; in that case it 
would be better to diminish the length of the cordons from 8j 
to 5.87 feet, and the distance between the stocks will then be 
19.76 inches. It may also be that the wall will be more than 
8.'j feet in height, and in order to increase the number of cor- 
dons it becomes necessary to place the stock at less than 20.12 
inches ; for example, to 9.88 inclies if the wall affords space 
for ten cordons. Should this di.stauce be too small to allow the 
roots to draw from tbe earth the sustenance necessary for the 
support of ten cordons, in order to remedy this inconvenience 
the length of the cordons is slightly increased for a trellis of 
ten cordons to from 103.08 inches to 62 inches, the stocks 
remaining at the distance of 15 inches from each other. How- 
ever, as this increased length of the cordons has an unfavorable 

• M. Du Ureuil has had his drawings made to an accurate scale, but although 
our fi^'ures are exact transfers fiora his cuts, the relations of the French and 
English measures is such as to preclude our giving a useful scale in English feet. 
The same reason has oblijjed us to introduce numerous fractions — a feature which 
me did not feel at liberty to avoid by ^ iolating the accuracy of the translation. 



12 



THE THUMERY SYSTEM 



influence over the vigor of tbe brandies and the quality of tliei? 
products, we recommend in preference tliat the following pro- 
cess be employed. 

It consists in planting on the side of the wall which is to 



:Syj 




Fig. 4. 

receive the trellis only the number of stocks sufficient to form 
five cordons, at the most. As to the other five cordons, 
if the height of the wall requires ten, they should be established 
by means of stocks planted on the other side of the wall, and 
which may pass to the front through holes pierced in the wall 
at each point where a cordon is desired (Fig. 4). When the vines 
have grown through the walL, the opening should be closed with 
clay in order to avoid injurious currents of air. Tlie cordons 
fo-.Tued in this manner are preferred by the cultivators of Tho- 
mery for the lower cordons of the trellis. They have remarked 
that the vines planted on the shady side of the wall present a 
stronger growth than the others, doubtless becau.se the soil is 
less dried by the heat of the sun, and that the greater part of 
their stems escapes the action of the solar rays. Should these 
vines form the upper cordons, the size and abundance of their 
leaves would injure those below. In placing them, on the con- 
trary, on the lower part of the trellis, their too great growth 
is diminished, and their clusters nearer the ground are subject 
to a more elevated temperature, by which their ripening is 
hastened. 

This ingenious method may also be used for trellises composed 
of five cordons, but which are placed in a soil so dry and 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 13 

scorched that the distance of 20 inches het^cen the stocks is 
not sufficient to allow the roots to gatiier from the earth the 
nourishment required. This distance must then be increased, 
without however augmenting the length of the cordons. 

"When the position to be given to the cordons is properly de- 
termined, the plan of their arrangement is traced upon the wall. 
Begin by indicating at the foot of the wall from a to j (Fig. 3) 
the point from which each shoot should spring, and from that 
point draw a vertical line. 

At the point a, this vertical line ceases at the height of the 
first cordon at 15 inches from the soil ; at the point b, 33.08 
inches ; at the point o, at 50 inches, and as far as the point E, 
■where the line of the first cordon ceases at 86 inches from the 
soil. From thence a second series of lines is commenced simi- 
lar to the first, and we proceed in this manner to the end of the 
wall. It then only remains to trace, toaching the top of each 
vertical line, the coarse to be taken by the cordons from 
right to left, and to indicate where each of them is to cease — 
that is to say, at 52 inches from each side of the main stalk. 
After the conclusion of this operation, the vines are planted in 
the manner wliich we intend to describe. 

HoRizo:sTAL CoRDOx OF Ckarmeux (Fig. 5).— The arrange- 
ment which we have just explained is that which was at first 
generally adopted for the Thomery vines, and is that which is 
still employed for the trellis of Fontainebleau. But it was not 
long before the cultivators of Thomery remarked that this 
method presented an important inconvenience. During the 
formation of the cordons, an entire arm of each >tock is shaded 
by the upper cordon, while the greater part of the opposite arm 
escapes this unfavorable influence. The result is an inequality 
of growth between these two arms, and it becomes necessary to 
employ certain processes, often unavailing, to maintain a pro- 
per equilibrium of growth between the two arras from the 
main stalk. To obviate this difficulty, in 1828, M. Charmeux, 
senior, invented a new description of horizontal cordon, which 
has been adopted by alaiost all the cultivators of Thomery for the 
trellises which they have since erected. The plan is as follows; 



u 



THE TIIOMEEY SYSTEM 




OF GRAPE CULTUKE. 15 

The distance between the superposed cordons, the length 
of the latter, and the distance between the stocks, is the 
same as in that of the horizontal cordon of Thomorj. The 
Charmeux cordon differs only in the order in wliich the 
stalks successively put forth t''.e cordons forming the trel- 
lis. Thus, in tiie Thomery cordon, the first stalk (a, Fig. 3), 
produces the first lower cordon ; the second stalk (b) the 
second cordon, and thus to the highest cordon of all, in such 
a fashion that the whole number of stalks form, from one 
extremity of the trellis to the other, a succession of distinct 
steps. On the contrary, in the cordon of Charmeux, (Fig. 5), 
the first stalk (a) furnishes the first cordon, the second (b) the 
fourth, the third (c) the second, the Jifth (e) the third, to com- 
mence again by the (irst cordon, and continue in the same man- 
ner to the end of the trellis. 

The design of this trellis upon tht> wall is made as easily as 
for the preceding arrangement. 

The desired purpose of this contrivance is completely attained. 
Not only the cordons are not unequally shaded, during the first 
years of their growth, but they corn -jletely escape this influence 
until the age of about five years. If tlien they are subjected to 
this shade, it is equal for both arms, and is brought first to bear 
upon the ends of each cordon in such a manner as to moderate 
their growth to the advantage of the bearing shoots nearest to 
the main stalk. 

Veutical CoiiDON. — This disposition, to which, absurdly 
enough, the name of " palmette" has been given, has been applied 
to the trellises of Fontainebleau to a small extent for about forty 
years, and ten years later to some trellises at Thomery. The fol- 
lowing is the principle. The vines, planted 39.37 inches apart, 
are allowed to develop a single stalk, which rises vertically to 
the top of the wall. This stalk presents on each side a series 
of branches irregularly disposed. The shoots annually developed 
from these are trained obliquely in the space by which each 
main stalk is separated. 

This system of is susceptible many improvements. It 13 
evidsnt. for example, that the interval of oun metre (39| inches) 



16 



THE TIIOMERY SYSTEM 



which separates each main stalk, is too great when the shoots 
are trained obliquely and not perpendicularly from the main 
stalk upon which they grow, as is the case in the trellis of 
which we have spoken. Moreover, the irregularity with which 




Kg. 6. 

the branches are distributed upon the stalk causes an unequal 
distribution of sap, and its determination to certain points, whe- 
ther of superabundance or scarcity, resulting in the destruction 
of the shoots less favorably situated. 

Vertical Cordon with alternate Shoots (Fig. 6). — M. 
Kose Charmeux has brought this new arrangement to perfec- 
tion in the following manner. He plants the stocks at a dis- 
tance of 28 inches one from the other; then he regularly distri- 
butes the slioots on each side of the stem, inaking them spring 
alternately every 10 inches in such a manner that ihey may be 
separated by an interval of 20 inches on the same side of the 
stem. We shall find, in discussing the method of pruo'c^, how 
perfect regularity in this respect may be obtained. 



OF GEAPE CULTUKE. 17 

The trellis thus arranged presents the follow Ing advantages. 
In scorched and dry soils, the stocks and the horizontal branches 
arranged in the manner previously described suffer much from the 
heat of the sun, from which they are very imperfectly shaded by 
their leaves. In tlie trellis with alternate shoots the main stallis 
are completely covered. These cordons may therefore be usefully 
employed in dry soils. Besides, these cordons are suitable for 
the most confined space, since they require only 28 inches. 

But this vertical cordon cannot be conveniently applied 
against a high wall, for as the sap tends toward the top of the 
plant, the shoots toward its base become feeble and languishing. 
We have remarked this fact at Fontainebleau, where the wall 
which supports these cordons is 13 feet high. It is our opinion 
that the main stem should not be allowed to exceed 80 inches. If 
the wall is higher, the following modification (Fig. 7) may be 
used, equally due to M. Rose Charmeux. For a wall 13 feet high 
the stocks are planted only every 14 inches ; then the stalk of 
eacli is allowed to rise alternately to 66.4 inches and to 13 feet ; 
but the latter commence to bear shoots only directly above the 
point where the first cease — tiiat is to say at 06.4, In tliis 
manner the wall is completely covered and the cultivator has 
not to dread the destruction of the lower shoots. 

The trellis wnth vertical cordons which Ave have just de- 
scribed is simpler and more easily formed than those with 
horizontal cordons ; but experience has shown that its produce 
is less abundant, since for an equal surface it dffers a smaller 
number of branches. 

M. Eose Charmeux, struck by the advantages offered by the 
simplicity of this arrangement, has attempted to render it as 
fruitful as the horizontal cordons. He completely resolved the 
problem in 1828 by means of the following modification, which 
gives for the same surface of wall a greater number of shoots 
and consequently a greater number of clusters. As this new 
arrangement is at once more simple, and more easily obtained 
than the others, and as it may be accommodated to walls of aU 
heights, we recommend it to the exclusion of other plans, and 



18 



THE THOMEKY SYSTEM 




Fig. 7. 



we shall choose it to study in detail the method of cultivatioa 
and pruning suitable to trellised vines. 



OF GBAPE CULTUKE. 19 



CULTIVATION OF TEELLISED VINES, ARRANGED 
WITH VERTICAL STEMS (CORDONS) BEARING OP- 
POSITE SHOOTS. 

In this new arrangement (Fig. 8) the vines are planted 
at the foot of the wall every 14 inches. The wall, whatever be 
its height, is horizontally divided into two equal parts. The 
first vine stops at half tlie height of the wall. The second is 
allowed to reach its summit, and thus continue in this manner 
alternately to the extremity of the wall. The reader will observe 
that the shorter vines bear shoots from about 12 inches above 
the soil to their tops, and the taller begin to bear shoots only on 
leaving the lower half of the wall. These pairs of slioots are 10 
inches distant from each other. This arrangement offers all the 
advantages presented by the form shown in Fig. 7 ; that is to 
say, that in consequence of the length of the main stem fur- 
nished with shoots, these last are maintained in equal growth. 
Moreover, the new form grows more shoots for the same sur- 
face than is shown in Fig. 7, and more even than the horizontal 
cordons. If, however, the wall is only 39 inches high, all the 
vines may be made to rise regularly to its summit. But in that 
case they should be placed at intervals of 28 inches and should 
be furnished with branches from 12 inches above the soil to the 
top of the wall. 

Let us now turn to the labor necessary to the establishment 
of such a trellis as the one described above. 

Walls peopek fok the Teellis. — The vine arranged in ver- 
tical cordons accommodate themselves to waUs of all heights. 
At Thomery the gardens are subdivided by bearing walls 
parallel to each other and separated by a space of from 40 to 
46^ feet. They may, however, be placed nearer to each other, 
but in that case the earth between will be too much shaded, 
and cannot be turned to account These bearing walls are only 
85 inches high, and were built many years after those of inclo- 
Bure ; that is to say, when the young vines which it is intended 
they shall support, have been carried thence by many successive 



20 



THE THOMERY SYSTEM 




Fig. 8. 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



21 



laverings (coucTiages). Thus the interest of the capital employed 
in these constructions is economized. Some of the cultivators 
of Thomery have also constructed a sort of counter espalier — 
tliat is to say, a lesser wall opposite the principal bearing wall, 
in masonry 45 inches high and 6 to 8 inches thick. Only one 
of these little walls is placed 100 inches in front of the principal 
walls the most favorably situated. In this manner they derive 
every possible advantage from their best exposures. 

This subdivision of the inclosures not only enables the ciilti- 
vator to obtain a larger harvest, but it likewise offers the 
advantage of diminishing the currents of air, concentrating the 
heat by the radiation, and thus hastening the ripening of the 
grape. 

It has sometimes been attempted to use for trellises the walla 
by which terraces are supported. The superfluous moisture of 
the soil draws to the bottom of the wall and injures the vine stalks. 
For almost every other kind of fruit-tree very projecting copings 
offer more inconveniences than advantages, but for the vine the 
case is different. On the one hand, these copings take place with 
those movable fruit-houses which we have recommended for cov' 
ering espalier trees in order to preserve them from the chills of the 
spring ; and on the other, they shelter the vine from the mois- 
ture of the rains and dews, which results in a more active vege- 
tation and a more prolonged development, injurious to the 
ripening of the grape. Finally, these projections preserve the 
clusters from the first cold weather of the autumn, and thus 
delay the time of gathering and facilitate their preservation. 
All the walls of Thomery are finished by tile copings. Their 
projection is greater in proportion to the height of the walls, 
being 14 inches for walls of 156 inches, 12 inches for those of 
117 inches, 10 inches for those of 100 inches, 8 inches for those 
of 80 inches, and o^ inches for the little walls of the counter 
espalier. In the last case they are inclined only from one side. 

The walls thus built are white, being covered with lime. This 
color at Thomery has given the most satisfactory results. 

When the method of construction allows, smooth finished walls 
(palissage a la loque), should be used; we may then dispense 



22 THE THOMERT SYSTEM 

with the trellis. Bat the great quantity of plaster required 
by this arrangement renders it oo expensive to be used 
beyond a certain distance frorr. Paris. We must have 
recourse to frames, and for the fortt of trellis of which we are 
speaking, they should be erected in the following manner : 

A series of galvanized iron wires (No. 14) are extended along 
the wall. Upon these wires laths are fastened every 12 inches, 
and to these laths the main stem of each vine is trained alter- 
nately to half the height and to the summit of tlie wall. 

Exposure of the Walls. — The trellised vine demands an 
exposure at once as dry and as warm as possible. In the north 
and the centre of France this double condition is best fulfilled 
by a southeast exposure. A southern exposure is doubtless the 
warmest, but the trellises with such an aspect also receive too 
directly the damp winds and rains of the southwest. The culti- 
vators of Thomery use the side of their walls exposed to the 
west and to the southwest, but gather from thence grapes of the 
second or third quality only. 

Propagation of the Vhste. — On the different modes of pro- 
pagation to be chosen for a trellised vine, we would offer the 
following observations. Slips or cuttings propagated from 
layers are often used in forming trellises. When intended for a 
permanency, they are planted in the manner which we will 
proceed to describe. They begin to bear fruit only in tlie 
fourth year. They should be used only in the absence of 
the layers themselves, for whose first fruit we are not 
obliged so long to wait. The layers, or as they are called at 
Thomery, the clievelees^ are generally to be preferred, for wheu 
they are transjJ.anted with care, and their roots are not dried by 
exposure to the air, their vegetation during the first years is 
more vigorous, and thus time is gained. Two sorts of layers 
are used — uncovered layers and layers in baskets. The unco- 
vered layers (Fig. 9j are freed from all the earth which 
surrounds them, when they are planted for a trellis. When 
planted with care, they will begin to bear at the end of threa 
years. The basket layers (Fig. 10) are prepared in the follow- 
ing manner. In the spring is made an osier baskut (d) of au 



OF GU.^PE CUr/lTTRE. 



23 




Fig 9. 



oval form and 12 inches long by 10 inches broad, and having a 
depth of 10 inches. These baskets sliould be made of green 
osier, that they may remain intact during a year. When the 
proper time for making the layer has arrived, tlie shoots to be 
operated upon being before chosen, a hole is pierced in the bot- 
tom of the basket at the point a, by which the shoot enters; 
each basket is then placed at a depth of 6 inches in the soil, 
and they are then filled with earth of good quality, to which 
has been added a portion of vegetable mold. Lastly, the top 
of the shoot is then cut in such a manner that only two buds or 
germs are left above the soil, and tlie whole is sustained by a 
prop. The operation is terminated by taking off all the buda 
on that part of the stem situated between the mother branch 
and the basket. This suppression is necessary to prevent these 
buds from absorbing the sap in their development at the expense 
of the layer. During thi summer the two buds on the layer 



24 



THE THOMERY SYSTEM 




Pis. 10. 



freely develop themselves, and put forth abundant roots, so that 
at the end of the year the layer is ready for use. The whole is 
then taken up and the layer hardly suffers at all from the sepa- 
ration from the parent stalk. This undoubtedly is the best 
method of propagation, and is that which is preferred at Tho- 
mery. Unhappily, on account of the expense attending the 
transportation of the basket layers, the cultivator is often com- 
pelled to use the unprotected layers, or cheveUes. 

Graft. — As to the graft, this mode of propagation, or multi- 
plication, is employed for trellised vines only as an exception, 
and in circumstances analogous to those which render this 
operation necessary in ordinary vineyards. "We have in the 
preceding part of this volume described the graft ^'- en fenU 



OF GKAPE CULTUKE. 25 

houture'" as one of the best for the vine. If, howeve-;-, a 
cJieveUe may be used, it is to be preferred to any other for tlie 
purpose. It is planted near the vine, and the operation is con- 
ducted in the same manner as for the graft. 

The great advantage of the cheveUe is that it bears fruit the 
following summer. 

An essential precaution, and one which is equally applicable 
to the three methods of propagation above mentioned, is the 
proper choice of the shoot intended to furnish the graft, the 
cutting or the layer. The shoot should have borne fruit during 
the year, and should be strong and in a healthy condition. The 
clusters should have been such as to exhibit in the highest 
degree the distinguishing qualities of the variety which it is 
desired to cultivate. Before the grapes are gathered, the shoots 
which appear the best suited for this purpose should be marked. 

Plantation and Peooess of Bedding oe Laying the 
Teellised Vine.— i^V«« Fear.— The superabundant moisture 
with which tlie soil is always impregnated during the winter is 
especially injurious to the roots of the newly-planted vine; it 
causes them to decay. The end of the winter, when the earth 
is drained sufficiently, is the time which should almost always be 
chosen for planting. There is do exception to this rule, but 
for dry and scorched soil like that of central and southern 
France. In such ground it is better to plant at the beginning 
of winter. The following is the process employed for layers in 
baskets ; 

If the land to be used is new, or if it has not lately been tlio- 
roughly cultivated, it should be dug during the winter to a 
depth of 32 or even so deep as 89 inches, if the soil is pebbly. 
The soil thus spaded up should extend to witliin 53.2 inches of 
the base of the wall. In the preceding chapters we have 
already spoken of the necessity that the soil should be such as 
to conduce to tlie healtli of the plants which it is intended to 
support. Such a soil is particularly essential to the vine. It 
may even be advisable, after tlie first spading mentioned, to 
carry it to a depth of 48 inches, and to widen it to an extent 
of 89 inches. The permeability of the soil sliouM alr^o be 



26 THE THOMERY SYSTEM 

increased by the mixtures of earth already described, and the 
earth in all cases should be richly manured. 

"When the land is thus prepared, in the spring, a trench is 
opened 17 inches deep in dry, 20 inches deep in wet soils. 
The outer edge of this trench is 28 inches from the wall. The 
earth taken from it is deposited on each side. Vegetable mold, 
or compost, mixed with earth, is then spread over the bottom. 
In this trench the baskets containing the layers are placed. 
Should the soil be very dry the trencli may be opened at 
89 inches from the foot of the wall, instead of 28. A greater 
length of the stem is then bedded before it reaches the wall, and 
the roots, spread over a greater space, will more easily find the 
portion of moisture which they require. The space to be left 
between these layers is of course determined by that which it is 
intended shall be left between the vertical cordons upon the 
wall. If the cordons are intended to be 14 inches distant one 
from the other, the layers are separated by an interval of 28 
inches, as after they have been laid, each layer should furnish 
two branches at the foot of the wall. A number of layers 
might be planted equal to the number of stems supporting the 
cordons, which are intended for the wall ; but in that case they 
would be separated by a less interval, and would, as it were, 
starve each other. Moreover, the number of layers being 
greater, the expense would be increased. 

It will, then, be more advisable to proceed in the manner just 
described; at all events, in those cases where the wall being 
only 39 inches in heiglit, all the stems are to extend to the 
top. 

"When the stalks from the layers are separated at the base of 
the wall by an interval of 28 inches, the number of basket layers 
planted is equal to that of these stalks. If the first process is 
adopted, the layers are planted at the point a (Fig. 11), in the 
centre of the space by which the stalks against the wall are 
divided one from the other. In tlie second case, the layers are 
placed at the point a, in front of eacli of the points indicated 
by B. 

The layers are planted in the following manner : From each 



OF GKAPE CULTURE. 



27 




Fig. 11. 

layer composed of two shoots, the least vigorous one is sepa- 
rated. The roots wliich issue from the basket are left un- 
touched, provided that they are not broken, or dried by exposure 
to the air. This being done, at the bottom of the trench, and 
on that side Avhich is farthest from the wall, a hole is made 6 
inches deep and a little larger than the basket whicli it is 
intended to receive. In each of these holes a basket is placed 
in such a manner that the end of the shoot which it contains is 
turned toward the wall. Tliat and the basket should be 10 inches 
below the level of the soil. A little notch is then made iu tha 



28 THE THOMERY SYSTEM 

npper edge of the basket on that side nearest the wa!!, so that 
the shoot may be easily turned in the required direction. Then 
on that side of the trench nearest the wall, and in front of each 
basket, is made a smaller trench, as is shown in the figure at d, 

3 inches deep and 10 inches long. In this the shoot is carefully 
laid, and it is filled with ear+h mixed with vegetable mold up to 
the level of the soil. The first trench is partly filled with the 
earth which was taken from it, mixed with vegetable mold. 
This operation is performed in such a manner that the trench is 
left empty to the depth of 8 inches, that the layer is buried to 
the depth of 10 inches, and that the top of the basket is covered 
by a bed of earth 2 inches in thickness. The operation is con- 
cluded by cutting off the shoot, as it leaves the earth just above 
the bud E, or that which is nearest the ground. The sap being 
thus concentrated upon a single bud, it attains a more vigorous 
development, and that part of the shoot which is buried, puts 
forth more roots, which pierce the bark with greater ease, in 
proportion as the leaf-buds from which they spring are nearer 
to the light. The end of the shoot above the earth is fixed 
upon a stave or prop 39 inches in length, and the remainder of 
the earth taken out of the trench is piled up on each side in the 
form of a shelving bank. The result of this last arrangement is 
to retain a greater degree of moisture in the neighborliood of 
the newly-planted shoot during the summer. 

"When the cultivator has no layers in baskets at his disposal, 
and is obliged to content himself with uncovered layers or even 
with cuttings, they should be planted in the same manner aa 
the basket layers, only care must be taken to place the earth 
firmly around the cTieveUes and especially around the cuttings, 
and all that part which is under ground should be surrounded 
with earth which has been considerably enriched. 

"We will now proceed to describe the attentions demanded by 
this plantation during the next summer, "When the bud e is 
developed, it is fixed upon the prop. As soon as it has attained 
a length of 20 inches the top is cut off; next the premature 
twigs which are thus developed are removed when they are 

4 inches in length. The res lit ol tliis opei-ation is to increase 



OF GEAPE CULTUKE. 



29 



the size of tlie stem by limiting the evolution of the antici- 
p:it(^ry shoots, and to accumulate iu a small space all the nutri- 
tive juices taken up by tbe roots. It also i)romotes the increase 
of the roots along the newly interred layer. No bunch of 
grapes is allowed to remain on this shoot for fear of weakening 
it. The whole plantation should also receive two or three dress- 
ings in the course of the year. They should be applied, if possi- 
ble, after rather a smart shower of rain, and when the earth has 
slightly drained. If the soil is liglit and dryness is to be appre- 
hended, the trench and the little ditch should be covered with 
a bed of manure 6 inches in thickness, besides that which has 
already been applied, and finally, the trench is filled with the 
earth banked up on each side. After this operation, the whole 
appears like Fig. 11. 

Second Year of the Plantation. — Toward the end of 
February, the shoot developed during the preceding year is cut 
at A (Fig. 12), above the three buds nearest to the base, then it 




Pig. 12. 

is attached to a prop 53 inches long which replaces the hrst. 
When the shoots have attained a length of 6 infhes the 
laterals are pinched out, so as to preserve only the shoots 
from the three buds just described. These shoots are fixed 
upon a prop in proportion as they grow loa.irer. They are 
not allowed to exceed the j)rop by which they are supported, 
and the process of nipping otf the buds is continued. Should 



30 



THE TIIOMERY SYSTEM 



the shoots on the props be very vigorous, two clusters, at the 
mo?t, should be left upon each, and should be treated in the 
manner which we will explain in the proper order. The same 
attentions are bestowed as in the preceding summer, and tlien 
a light dressing in November. The result then obtained is 
shown in Fig. 13. 




Fig. 13. 

Third Yeak. — Relaying. — In good weather in the first of 
March, or, if in the South, in the autumn, the layers must be 
examined in order to know if they have put forth shoots suffi- 
ciently large and vigorous to be relaid. If uncovered layers, 
and still more, if cuttings have been planted, the cultivator will 
be obliged to wait till the following year and even to the year 
after to repeat the process of bedding or laying. The roots on 
the previously bedded shoot will not be sufficiently numerous, 
they would injure in their development the new layer which it 
is intended to put down, and the future health of the stalk des- 
tined to be placed against the wall would suffer. In that case 
only the two finest shoots of the young stalk should be pre- 
served. These are cut to a length of only 6 inches, and upon 
these only a single shoot is preserved during the summer. 
Should they not be strong enough for relaying in the following 
year, the same operation is repeated. The stalks obtained from 
layers in baskets may almost always be rebedded fi-oin the third 
year. In that case the following method is employed. A 



OF (tKAPK cultuke. 



31 



treni;li 24 to 30 inclies deep, according as the soil is more or 
less exposed to dampness, is opened at the foot of the wall, and 
is made wide enough to reachth* young vines (Fig. 14). Tlie 




\.^ft/LJ^J<'^C 



earth round the young vines is loosened with care until they 
turn naturally of themselves into the trench, in the bottom of 
which they are then placed in the manner shown by Figs. 14 
and 15, that is to say, if each principal vine stalk is intended to 
produce two stalks to be trained on the wall (Fig. 15), the two 




Fig. 15. 



32 



THE TIIOMERY SYSTEM 



most vigorous shoots should be preserved, and they should ha 
carried obliquely toward the wall, and from two stalks at the 
points B. If, on the contrary?, it is intended that each principal 
stalk shall furnish but one stalk for the wall (Fig. 16), only 




Fig. 16. 

the finest shoot is preserved, which is buried in the trench and 
directed toward the wall at the point b, where it is intended to 
be trained. In both cases the shoots are covered as far as the 
foot of the wall by a bed of mixed soil and vegetable mold 
about 4 inches in thickness (Fig. 16). The trench is then filled 
with part of the earth which was taken from it, and the re- 
mainder is heaped up in a shelving bank at a distance of 40 
inches from the wall, in order to preserve the moisture in the 
neighborhood of the newly laid vines, and thus facilitate a 
plentiful development of roots. 

The upper extremities of the buried shoots are fixed at the 
base of the uprights of the trellis. These shoots are cut so as 
to preserve only the three buds nearest the base. This opera- 
tion being concluded, the trellis presents the form shown in 
Fig. 14. 

If the plantation of layers or cuttings has been in a trench at 
a distance of 40 inches from the wall instead of 28 inches, they 
must he brought to the foot of the wall only after a tliird lay- 
ing, otherwise we should be obliged each time to cover too 
large a part of the shoot, which, as we shall see further on, wiD 



OF GEAPE CULTURE. 33 

prevent them from properly taking root, and so injure tlie 
strength of the viae. 

If this method of planting for the trellised vine is compared 
with that used in the majority of gardens, it will be seen that 
it is very different. In fact, the vines are almost ahvays planted 
directly at the foot of the wall, and the only pa.-t buried is that 
which was originally below the soil ; so that the vine, the roots 
of which ramify with great difficulty, cannot, when thus, 
planted, develop new radical organs upon the stems below the 
soil. It puts forth roots with great difficulty, it is long in 
recovering from its transplantation, and its vegetation is never 
vigorous. 

On the contrary, by adopting the mode of cultivation used at 
Thomery, which we have just described, the vine is placed 
under much better circumstances. The first year there is 
buried, besides the stem first covered with roots, 10 inches of 
the shoot, which during the two or three years preceding the 
relaying, covers itself with vigorous roots. Two or three years 
after this, 14 inches of the shoot are again laid, whicli in a little 
while is completely covered with roots. Each stalk intended 
for the wall is then provided with an underground stem 44 
inches in length, bearing through all its lengtli numerous and 
vigorous roots, which give to the vine more strength and hardi- 
ness than is possible when the method of which we spoke first 
is used. When uncovered chevclees, or those in baskets are 
used, the cultivator may be tempted to lay at once a length of 
shoot sufficient to bring the upper end directly to the foot of the 
wall, a length, for instance of 24 inches. This is a very bad 
plan, for the stems do not properly take root only upon the 12 
to 14 inches nearest to the upper ends, because the woody 
and cortical fibres which run down from the buds to produce 
roots are not sufficiently numerous to put forth roots enough, 
and they pierce the bark at the same time that they meet the 
soil. It is desirable to lay only 14 inches at tlie most, if it is 
intended that the underground stalk shall be fully provided with 
roots throughout its whole extent. 

Method of Prhnixg adopted fok the Veetioaij.y Teel- 



34 



THE TIIOMEEY SYSTEM 



LiSED Vine wirn opposite Shoots. — Constrtjction' of the 
Feame. — First Tear. — The shoots having been laid and brought 
to the foot of the wall, the buds are watched in their first deve- 
lopment to see that they are not harmed by caterpillars, snails, 
or other destructive insects. When the three shoots have 
attained a length of about 6 inches, the stipulary shoots 




Fig. 17. 

(A, Fig. 17), which often grow by the side of the shoots properly 
so called, are taken away. Then, when they are about 12 inches 
long, we begin to break the tendrils which uselessly absorb the 
sap. This breaking of the tendrils is continued through the 
period during which the length of tlie shoot increases, and 
should be put in force while the tendrils are yet so soft that 
they may be easily broken. That is also the time which should 
be chosen to begin the formation of the stalk intended to be 
trained upon the wall. The following is the method then 
employed : 

Let us suppose that one of these young stalks is represented 
by Fig. 17. From the three stalks which have been preserved, 
one is chosen having a leaf 12 inches above the ground. Let us 
suppose in our figure that this is the second shoot on leaving 



OF grapp: culture. 



35 



the ground, and that the leaf aforesaid is situatx^d opposite the 
second cluster. This chister is taken off and the shoot is cut 
immediately above this leaf, as in b, Fig. 18. The top of the two 







Fig. 18. 

Other shoots is then removed in order to hinder them from too 
great a growth to the detriment of the shoot upon which it is 
intended to operate. We may then proceed to train it upon tlie 
frame. The slioot under treatment is placed in a vertical posi- 
tion, and the two others are attached at an angle of forty-five 
degrees. A premature stipulary shoot will be seen immediately 
to spring from tlie axil of tlie leaf of the cut shoot (a, Fig. 18). 
This shoot should be broken when only an inch or two in 
length, 80 that the bud b at the base of this shoot is forced to 
develop itself. Before long this bud gives birth to a shoot 




fig. 19. 



36 



THE TIIOMERY SYSTEM 



(a, Fig. 19), which is allowed to grow, and which is trained 
vertically. These young main stalks require no other care dur- 
ing the summer, so far as the frame is concerned, than the 
complete suppression of all the premature stipulary shoots 








Fig. 20. 



(a. Fig. 20), or of premature shoots commonly so called, as alsu 
of the tendrils. Upon each shoot should be left only the clus- 
ters and D and the primitive leaves. These attentions should 
be given each year to all the shoots preserved. 

Second Year. — The stems operated upon in the manner just 
described present the appearance of Fig. 21. They are then 
subjected to the second pruning. The two shoots (b) are com- 
pletely taken off by cutting the first at a. Then the premature 
shoot is cut at d immediately above the bud situated near the 




37 



Fig. 21. 

base. During the following summer this bud develops itsell aa 
■well as the germs immediately below it upon the secondary shoot, 




Fig. 22. 



38 



THE THOMERY SYSIEM 



indicated by the letters e e, which is called the spur (talon ), 
The number of buds on the spur may be three or four. But 
two buds on the spur, one on each side and one at the top of 
the slioot, are preserved. The produce of the buds e e is entirely 
removed. This last operation is performed as soon as the shoots 
from the spur have attained a length of 4 inches. When the 
remaining shoots are fastened to the frame, the young vine 
presents the appearance of Fig. 19. "When tlie centre shoot (b) 
puts forth, as it increases in length, a leaf above that point 
where the first pair of lateral shoots is attached, it is cut ahoxe 
this leaf at the point a, as in the preceding summer, in order to 
obtain from the axil of this leaf a new shoot for tlie formation 
of a second pair, which must be treated in the same manner. 
The two lateral shoots are subjected to the same operation. 
Third Year. — In the following spring each stem on the walls 




Fig. 23. 



presents the appearance of Fig. 23. The shoot a is cut at tho 
point B, in order to obtain the same result as in the preceding 
year. As to the branches o, they are cut near their base in 
order to form the two first coursons or double branches shown 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



39 




Big. 24. 



in Fig. 24. The same development takes place during the sum- 
mer below the point b, as well as the same operation upon the 
new terminal shoot. The product of the buds d is removed. 

Fourth Year. — Fig. 24 shows the result of the operations 
performed during the preceding years. The same method of 
pruning is practised one year after another until the trellised 
vine has covered the space for which it was intended, when it 
presents the appearance shown in Fig. 7. 

All that we have just said applies to those stems which rise 
to half the height of the wall. Those which extend to its top 
grow more rapidly during the first years. During the summer, 
After the layering by which they have been brought to the wall, 
two shoots are left upon each of the three first shoots. The 



40 



THE THOMEKY SYSTEM 



following year, at the winter pruning, the strongest of the three 
shoots resulting from thence is chosen ; the two others are 
taken away and the remaining one is cut at 20 inches above the 
point where it is attached to the frame. In summer it is allowed 
to retain but three buds, which give place to three new shoots. 
The best of these is again chosen and extended also to 20 inches. 
The same process is repeated till the vertical stalk reaches the 
point where it is intended to support lateral branches. Then 
the same series of operations is employed as in the first case. 

This method of forming the main stalks has this advantage, 
that each pair of lateral branches being separated by a regular 
interval of 10 inches and by a knotty place at the point of 
attachment of the successive extensions, the course of the 
sap is arrested below every one of these knots and thus obliged 
to act with the same intensity on all the lateral branches of the 
same stalk. Such is not the use in the vertical cordons which 
are more rapidly formed, as they are more extended at each 
pruning. 

Caee necessaet to the Lateral Beanches. — First Tear. — 
The essential principles of pruning the lateral branches are the 
following : In the case of the vine, the clusters are attached to 



"*C^0.i 



.S^Jr^ <^i 








Fig. 25. 



shoots proceeding from the branches of the preceding summer 
(Fig. 25). The shoots accidentally developed on the old wood 
never bear grapes (Fig. 26). 

The farther the buds are removed from the base of the 
branch, the more fi-uitful are tlie shoots to which they give rise. 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



41 




Fig. 26. 

Ilence it appears that the shoots should be left entire, or be 
left very long. But in that case we immediately encounter the 
following inconveniences. Thus, if the shoot in the Fig. 27 is 
cut in B, the buds o and b are the only ones which will bo 





Kg. 27. 



Kg. 28. 



developed, and we shall have in the following year the result 
shown in Fig. 28. If, then, we trim the shoot at tlie points 
A and B (Fig. 28), we shall have two new shoots produced at the 
top of the shoot b. Continuing to trim in this manner the lateral 
branch or immediate support of the young shoot increases in 
length each year from 4 to 6 inches, and thence results great 
confusion through the whole extent of the trained vine, and 
moreover, a progressive enfeeblenicnt, or, as it were, starvation, 
of the new shoots, and, consequently, an immediate diminution 
of fruitfulness. 

On the other hand, if the slioot in Fig. 27 is cut so as to 



42 THE TilOMEKY SYSTEM 

preserve only the bud A, this bud is so near the old wood that 
the shoot produced from it will bear no grapes. 

It will be best, then, to cut this shoot (Fig. 27) as shoi't as 
possible, to hinder the lateral shoot from increasing in lengtli, 
but in such a manner, however, as to preserve a bud far enough 
from the old wood to produce grapes. Experience has shown 
that in order to attain this double end, the shoots from varieties 
of only a slight or average degree of strength should be cut 
above the two buds tlie nearest to the base, one of these two 
being that bud which, hardly visible, is on the base of the 
shoot itself — that is, just where it springs from the stalk (Fig. 
27). Two new buds are developed, and in consequence, two 
new shoots. The branch will tlieu present tlje appearance 
shown in Fig. 29. 




Fig. 29. 



The shoot A has borne clusters during the summer. Tlie 
shoot B is too near the old wood to have produced anything. 
It is called the shoot of replacement — that is to say, it is that 
intended to undergo the next pruning. For that, almost all 
the old wood is cut from the top of the spur. Then the 
shoot B is cut above the two buds nearest its base. During the 
summer two new shoots are thus produced, and each year the 
same method of pruning is repeated, so as to allow the old 
wood to increase as little as possible in length, and keep tlie 
fruitful shoots as near as possible to the direct channel of the 
sap. Such is the method of pruning applied to the braaclies 
intended to bear grapes for t!ie table. 

Tliere are, nevertheless, varieties so hardy that, should they 
be subjected to thi.s process, no fruit, or very little, would be 



OF GKAPE CULTURE. 



43 



obtained. The diffcreiit varieties of muscats, the Frankentlial, 
and others which we have noted in our list, are of this descrip- 
tion. For these, tlie shoots should be left a little longer. They 
are cut off below the third bud. This difference does not result 
in increasing the length of the lateral branches. In fact, such 
is the strength of these vines that three shoots are obtained 
from each lateral branch. That from the top, which generally 
bears the clusters, is the one preserved, then that at the base, 
intended to imdergo tlie next year's pruning. The intermediate 
one is suppressed. The same operation is each year repeated. 

Disbudding the Lateral BRANcnES or Coursons. — When the 
coursons are cut so as to preserve but two or three buds, it will 
often happen, nevertheless, that a larger number will be deve- 
loped. Only two, at the most, should be left at each point. 
The shoot a (Fig. 80). nearest the old wood, is preserved as a 
shoot of replacement, togetlier with that farthest from the same 




rig. .so. 



44r THE TIIOMEKY SYSTEM 

point B. The latter generally bears the cluf»ters. Tliere are, 
however, two cases in which but a single shoot should be left 
on the courson. First, when none of the shoots of the courson 
bear clusters ; then a single shoot, that from the base, is useful 
as a shoot of replacement. By the others being suppressed, the 
remaining one becomes stronger and will yield finer fruit in the 
following year. 

Second. When the two shoots of the courson both bear clus- 
ters, wiiich occasionally occurs in very fertile years. As it is 
advisable to leave only two small clusters or one large one to 
be supported by each courson, as we will presently explain, a 
retrenchment will be necessary. In this case, the shoot from 
the base only is preserved, and it will become at the same time 
a fruit-bearing shoot and a shoot of replacement. In conse- 
quence of this retrenchment the shoot in question will acquire 
more strength, it will bear better grapes, and the new shoot 
will afford the finest products of the following year. 

The proper time for putting in practice these different trim- 
mings, is, as soon as the young clusters make their appearance 
upon the shoots, that is to say, when they are about 10 inches 
long. We must repeat Avhat we have said concerning the cut- 
ting of the shoots — that there should be left upon each one of 
the shoots preserved only the clusters and the primitive leaves. 
Then all the supplementary shoots and the tendrils should be 
removed as soon as they appear. 

PixoHiNG THE Shoots. — The buds on the shoots of the vine, 
as on those of other trees, should often be pinched back. The 
end of this operation is to prevent the shoots from confused 
growth, to diminish the growth of some of the shoots to the 
profit of feebler ones, and finally to favor the development of 
tlie grapes by enabling them to profit by the sap, which would 
otherwise pass to the shoots which would spring from the buds 
destroyed. 

in order to obtain thc^e different results the buds on the 
shoots should he pinched olf as they develop themselves to the 
length of from 16 to 20 inches, and their extremities only 
should then be cut. 



OF GKAPE CULTUEE. 



45 



Manner of fastening the Shoots in Stjmmee. — The shoota 
of the vine are fastened in order to prevent their being broken 
hy the wind, and in general this fastening should be twice prac- 
tised upon the same shoot. The first fastening is made when 
the shoots have attained a length of about 12 inches. Then the 
shoots are but slightly compi-essed in the rush which serves as 
a ligature. Otherwise, in growing, they would break them- 
selves. 

Fifteen days after this first fastening, we proceed to the 
second, or recoUaffe, as it is called by the cultivators of Tho- 
rnery. At this time the shoots are tied as close as is necessary 
to arrange them conveniently. This process of fastening should 
be successively made for the different shoots of the same vertical 
main stalk, and by beginning with the most vigorous we may 
equalize their strength. The shoots of the vertical cordons 
should be inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees. 

Eexewal of the Coursons. — We have seen that in spite of 
the care which has been taken to keep down the spurs by an 
annual trimming, to the shoot nearest the base, they will always 
increase a little in length, and the shoot which they bear will 
diminish in vigor in proportion as they are removed from the 
point where the spur or lateral branch is attached to the 
cordon or vertical main stalk. In order to remedy this incon- 
venience, the shoots which sometimes grow at the base of the 
Bpurs are carefully preserved, whatever may be the age of 




Kg. 31, 



46 THE THOMEEY SYSTEM 

the spurs from whicli tbey spring. Then, of the two upper 
shoots, that which boi'e the worst cluster is suppressed. Tho 
following year the spur is cut at a, Fig. 31, and the shoot b 
is cut above the two lowest germs or eyes in order to form a 
new courson or spur. 

Replacement of the Spues (Coxjesons). — Sometimes also cer- 
tain spurs disappear entirely or are not developed where they are 
expected, and in either case spaces are left which it becomes 
necessary to fill. This accident may be remedied by the graft. 

Care of the Geapes. — It is in particular the intelligent 
labor bestowed upon the grapes from their first appearance to 
their maturity to which the cultivators of Thomery are 
indebted for their success. The following are the processes 
adopted : 

SuppEESsioN OF THE SuPERFLUors BuKCHES. — Too large a 
quantity of grapes upon the vine produces the same result as a 
superabundance of fruit upon other trees. A great quantity of 
grapes are gathered, but the clusters and the berries are small, 
and the vines are enfeebled for the following year. If the neces- 
sary retrenchments are made, the same result in weight is 
obtained, and the grapes are larger, better flavored, and com- 
mand a higher price. 

Thinning the BuNcnEs. — When the berries have attained the 
first stages of development, it will be proper to thin them. 




Pft. 32. 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 47 

With a straight, pointed pair of scissors ^xe cut from each 
bunch— first, all the abortive berries; and secondly, tliose in 
the middle of the bunch, together with some of those which, 
although on the outside, are too much crowded. If the 
bunches are very long, as is often the case with young and 
vigorous vines, the point of the bunch (a. Fig. 33) must also 
be removed, since the berries whicli it bears would be slow 
in ripening. The result of this thinning is, that, other things 
being equal, the grapes are ripe fifteen days earliei*, the berries 
are a third larger, and those intended to be kept through the 
winter will keep better. 

The tliiiiuing practised at Tlioniery is performed by women, 
and is applied to at least half the harvest — that is to say, 500,000 
kilogrammes of cha-selas. 

Gatheeing the Leaves. — At the time when the thinning 
takes place should also be applied the first epamprement^ or 
picking oft" the leaves. At first only the leaves turned toward 
the wall and those more or less broken or distorted are removed. 
When the berries begin to look transparent, a second epampre- 
ment takes place. A few leaves on the front of the vine are 
then removed in situations where the foliage is thick ; but the 
leaves which shelter the branches, the parasols, are preserved 
with care. Finally, when the berries are entirely cleared, and 
begin to turn yellow, the leaves which shadow them are 
removed. If they are exposed earlier the berries will harden 
and cease to increase in size. The bunches thus uncovered are 
exposed alternately to the dew and the sun, by the action of 
which they acquire that beautiful pale yellowish brown which 
distinguishes tlie chasselas of Thomery. 

Black grapes require particular care in this respect. The first 
removal of the leaves should not take place till the grapes are 
completely colored. 

These successive strippings of the leaves from the vine result 
in progressively arresting the annual growth of the vine, a long 
time befijre it would otherwise cease. The fruit, therefore, 
sooner begins to mature, and will be completely ripe by the first 
cold weather. 



48 THE TIIOMEEY SYSTEM 

Protections. —The very projecting copings which we have 
recommended for trellised vines are insufficient, if the wall is 
more than 80 inches high, to protect the grapes from the damp- 
ness of the atmosphere. It will then he advisable to place a 
movable pent-house at about half the height of the wall after 
the last gathering of the leaves in the middle of September, 
This pent-house should project about 20 inches. 

Annular Incision. — By ringing, girdling, or breaking; 
intended to hasten fifteen days the ripening of the grape, 
and which will increase also fully a third the size of the 
berry. 

Renewal of the Trellised Vine. — The trellised vine, 
attended in the manner we have described, will bear fruit for 
more than fifty years. But there comes a time when the suc- 
cessive renewal of the spurs produces upon them so many 
knots that the circulation of the sap is interrupted. The vege- 
tation becomes languishing, many of the coin-sons wither, and 
the vertical stems themselves finally perish. When this state 
of decrepitude first manifests itself, the cultivator proceeds to 
the renewal of the vine. All the vertical stalks are cut at about 
8 inches above the soil (Fig. 33). This trimming concentres the 
action of the sap upon tliis point, and so develops a certain 
number of shoots. During the summer the most vigorous are 
chosen and the others removed. The following year the 
reserved shoot is cut above the third bud, and the same care 
before described is applied to the three resulting shoots. Then 
the process is continued as for the establishment of a young 
vine. To assure its success, it is well to remove, from the time 
when the shoots are suppressed, as much earth as possible from 
the foot of the trellis without injuring the roots of the vine, and 
we should apply abundance of manure, which should be covered 
with a bed of new earth nearly equal in thickness to that 
removed. When the trellis to be renewed is in a state of 
advanced decrepitude, and when a certain number of vertical 
stalks are completely withered, and the regularity of the whole 
is lost, we proceed in a diti'erent manner. Each vertical stem 
is cat off, as we have said, above, and those which are dea<? 



OF GRAPE CULTUHE. 



49 




Fig. 33. 

removed. During the snmmer the two most vigorons shoots on 
each vertical stalk are preserved, and they are allowed to grow 
to the top of the wall. The following year there is taken away 
from the foot of the trellis as much earth as possible, about 
16 inches, taking care not to harm the old roots. The earth is 
hollowed out, completely as it were isolating the base of each 
vertical stalk. Then they are laid at the base of the trellis pre- 
\'iou8ly arranged for their reception. As each one leaves two 



60 THE THOMERY SYSTEM 

slioots, and as this number is more than sufficient to furnish the 
required number of vertical stalks, we preserve only the proper 
number, choosing the most vigorous for our purpose. These 
stalks and shoots are finally extended on the ground by means 
of wooden hooks, in sach a manner that the new shoot directed 
toward the wall leaves the ground at exactly that point where 
the new vertical stalk should rise. A bed of manure, 3 inches 
in thickness, is then spread, and the rest of the hollow is filled 
with new earth. All these vertical stalks will develop with 
exceeding vigor during the year, and will then be managed like 
those of a new plantation. "We saw thus renewed, in 1848, a 
trellis more than eiglity years old, belonging to M. Rose Char- 
meux. The operation was attended with no difficulty, and its 
success was complete. 

It will readily be perceived that by the aid of this renewing 
process the duration of the trellised vines is almost indefinite, 
and it will seldom be necessary to replant. The cultivators of 
Thomery b-ave a proverb, " He who plants an espalier is not 
there to take it away." This mode of a renewal may be applied 
to an old trellis more or less regularly disposed in horizontal 
cordons, which it may be desirable to replace by vertical ones. 
The process in such a case is as follows : 

In the spring each cordon is cut immediately above the spur 
(couraon) nearest the base (Fig. 34). During the summer two 




shoots are preserved upon each spur and allowed to grow freely. 
The following year the gn.und at the foot of the trellis is dag 



OF GRAPE CULTUfiE. 51 

out as we have explained. Then the foot of each vertical stem 
is deeply laid bare and laid down horizontally" so that tha 
extremities of the shoots are connected to the foot of the wall 
at each of those parts were it is intended they shall form new- 
vertical stems. The rest of the process is conducted in the 
manner already described. 

CULTURE OF TABLE GRAPES IN THE OPEN AIR 
(P1.EIN Vext). 

The table grape is also cultivated in the open air,* but the 
climate of Paris is the extreme limit of this culture. The 
vines are arranged upon espalier and then managed as before 
described. They are even sometimes trained upon poles or 
stumps, and the method pursued is then tiie same as for the 
ordinary vineyard. 

At Thomery the interval wliitli separates each inclosure is 
used in the following manner: Espaliers are established 
parallel to the walls. The first is at SO inches' distance, and 
the others are separated by an interval of 8 ft. 6 in. These 
espaliers are sustained by a trellis similar to that on the 
wall. They are supported on wooden posts, or, as is better, on 
those of schistose stone, analogous to slate. These posts are 
placed at a distance of 5 ft. 4 in. one from the other. Some- 
times for these posts are substituted iron uprights fixed in 
prisms of sandstone placed in the gi'ound. In this case the 
wooden cross-pieces may be replaced by lines of iron wire 
which pass across the uprights. The main stems of the vine 
form upon this frame a series of little vertical cordons like 
those just described. These espaliers are, moreover, planted 
with the same care as the trellised vines, and are treated in the 
same manner. 

The interval of 8 ft. 6 in. which separates each espalier 
is occupied by a row of vines on poles, propped up as in the 

• " Open air " is here used not in contradistinction to vines protected by glass, 
tat those simply protected by walls and Copings as just described. 



52 THE THOMEKY SYSTEM 

ordinary vineyard, and subjected to the same method of cultiva- 
tion. These poles, separated by an interval of 53 inches, rise to 
a height of 13 inches above the soil, so that the rain may not 
cover the grapes with mud. 

In the same climate, the same variety of grape supported on 
a pole is always inferior to that cultivated upon a wall. The 
grapes from the pole vines are always worse than those from 
the contre espalier. 

The earliest varieties only should be cultivated in this man- 
ner, since the temperature of the conti'e espaliers is always 
lower than that of the espaliers. 

CULTUEE OF TABLE GRAPES IN SOUTHERN FRANCE. 

In the south of France the greater warmth and dryness of the 
climate hastens to a great extent the annual vegetation of the 
vine, and the ripening of the fruit is accomplished without its 
being necessary to increase the warmth of the atmosphere arti- 
ficially, or to moderate and even to arrest the growth of the 
vines. Hence the vine grows most vigorously and the choice 
varieties of table grapes which are native to these regions have 
a much greater development than those which belong to the 
centre and north of France. Finally, these varieties require 
less pruning in order to produce grapes. These ditFerent con- 
siderations give rise to the following modifications in processes 
of grape culture for those regions. 

First. The vine should be placed on espaliers, single or 
double, the supports of which should be like those already 
described. In all cases the walls of the garden which have the 
warmest exposure should be devoted to the vine, and for these 
walls should be selected the latest varieties. 

Second. Tlie vines should be planted before winter, as if 
planted later they suffer much from the dryness of the spring. 

Third. As the vine grows with much more strength in the 
south than in the north of France, whether on account of the 
climate, or the nature of the varieties peculiar to that region, it 
is necessary that they should be planted at a greater distance 



OF GRAPE CULTUKE. 53 

one from tbe oilier. For the vertical cordons, with opposite 
lateral shoots, it will be proper to leave an interval of 24 inches 
between each cordon instead of 14. 

Fourth. The coursons of those varieties analogous to the chas- 
selas, on account of their strength are cut so as to leave two 
buds as we have explained, but all those which grow with more 
strength are cut so as to leave three buds. 

Fifth. The operation of thinning the clusters is as efficacious 
in the south as in the north, but removing the leaves would be 
much more injurious than beneficial. Only the leaves which 
cover the clusters are to be taken off, and those only at the time 
when the grapes are perfectly transparent. 

Sixth. The vine in the south being stronger than in the north, 
a third more clusters than the amount previously specified are 
allowed to remain upon the vine. 

Diseases of the Vine — Destbuotive Animals akd Insects. 
— ^The diseases of the vine have been already referred to, and 
we will confine ourselves at present to the consideration of the 
destructive animals and insects, which especially attack the 
trellised vine. 

Birds, and particularly sparrows, thrushes, grossbeaks and 
black-birds are the great enemies of the trellised vine. When 
these birds do not riy in large fiocks and descend in great numbers 
upon one place, they occasion little mischief, and the cultivators 
of Thomery adopt no precaution against them. Nets undoubt- 
edly would be a good defence, but their price prevents their 
being employed over a large surface. 

M. Orbelin, of St. Maur, near Paris, has contrived, as a 
defence against birds, little mh-rors with a double face, of a very 
moderate price, and the result, up to the present time, has been 
very satisfactory. In the spring tlie first young shoots are 
often devoured by snails or slugs. Their size, tlieir slow pro- 
gress, and their habit of taking refuge in the chinks of the wall 
or behind the trellis, and of coming out in the morning or 
during the rain renders their destruction easy. 

The kermes, known also under the name of gall insect, be- 
l<'ugs to the genus coccus^ and particularly attacks the peach 



54 



THE TIIOMERY SYSTEM 



and tlie vine. When it has acquired complete development 
toward the end of May, it presents the following appearance : 
The male (a, Fig. 35) appears in the form of a little multipede 



.-^^^ 



m 



Fig. 35. 

or 'woodlouse covered with white dust. The female appesirs 
like a little brown shell b, adhering very firmly to the branches 
of the trees. About this time the inales impregnate the females 
and die. The females lay their eg]s directly, and the eggs 



OF GKAPK CUI/rUUE. 



55 



remain surroantied witli a little mass of white down, and cov- 
ered with the dried body of tiie female, who expires as soon aa 
ir-oy are deposited. These eggs hatch rapidly, and the insects 
issue from the shell which covers them, toward the end of June, 
to the number of more than a thousand. Hardly visible to the 
naked eye, they spread themselves over the surface of the 
leaves and young shoots, and destroy them by piercing their 
epidermis and absorbing their fluids. 

Toward the month of November, when the leaves fall, the 
kermes abandon them and fix themselves on the branches, 
choosing in preference, where the trees are en espalier^ the side 
next the wall, where they remain torpid through the winter, 
appearing like little brown stains. In the month of April they 
change their skins, rapidly increase in size, and give birth to a 
new generation. 

The measure-worm is the larva of a moth, which in the 
spring greatly injures the vine by devouring the young shoots 
as tliey are put forth. It is difficult to find it, as it has the 
form and color of a little dried stick. It carries on its ravages 
during the night, and it is then that the cultivators of Thomery, 
armed with lanterns, seek it out and destroy it. 

Gathering and Peeservation — Fresh Grapes. — The grapes 
should be gathered only when perfectly ripe. The longer the 




56 THE THOMERY S'XSTEM 

vintage is delayed in the centre and north of France, the highe? 
IS the flavor of the grape. The first frosts of autumn, to which 
it is very sensitive, should however be anticipated. The gather- 
ing should take place in a dry time. Each cluster should be 
taken by the stem, and detached by means of the pruning 
shears. 

As the grapes are gathered they are deposited in little bas- 
kets lined with vine leaves and fern. These baskets are 
arranged on what is called a crotchet, or sort of hod, shown in 
Fi"'. 36, which can be carried by one man to the storehouse, or 
to the place where the grapes are packed for market. 

The following is the manner employed each year in the pre- 
servation of a great quantity of grapes by the cultivators of 
Thomery : 

First, a certain portion is retained on the trellis to the latest 
possible moment. They choose the clusters from the two upper 
cordons of the walls having a southern exposure. These grapes 
are the least watery, and consequently the least susceptible to 
cold. They guard them by sheltering them with leaves of 
fern, and even with straw matting, and thus preserve them 
until Chi-istmas. The grapes which they wish to preserve still 
later they treat in the following manner: Those which they 
wish to i-etaiu till May are chosen from the poles, or the coun- 
ter espaliers. The bunches are taken which have been subjected 
to the thinning process and which ai'e formed of the largest and 
least crowded berries. They are cut a little before they are 
completely ripe — that is to say, from the 25th of September to 
the 15th of October. The grapes intended to be kept only till 
March, may be taken from the espaliers, and are gathered from 
the 1st to the 15th of November. 

The place where tlie grapes are kept is generally some room 
or building connected with the house, and especially devoted to 
this use. [Shelves about 30 inches wide, placed one over the 
other, cover the walls from floor to ceiling. In the middle of 
the room, and 30 inches distant from the lateral shelves, ano- 
ther series of shelves rises to the ceiling. These shelves are 
composed of a frame of wood fille<l up with a grating of iron 



OF GRAPE CULTURE. 57 

wire. It is upon this grating, which is covered by a slight 
layer of very dry straw, that the grapes are spread. They 
should often be inspected, and the berries which begin to decay 
should be removed by the scissors. 

A storehouse on this plan presents the following inconve- 
niences. Heat must often be introduced in order to defend it 
from the winter's cold, and the result is an injurious change of 
temperature. On the other side, the accumulation of moisture 
makes it necessary that it should be aired from time to time, 
and produces the same result in an inverse mode. Finally, if 
the currents of air produced by this ventilation are too great, 
the grape dries, shrivels, and loses, if not its quality, at least 
its commercial value. We think, then, that it is better to use 
the storehouse a description of which the reader will find at 
page 685 of the second part of this work. It will be necessary 
but to change the arrangement of the shelves, and also to use 
chloride of calcium with precaution, for fear of shrivelling the 
grapes.* 

When it is necessary to preserve only a small quantity of 
grapes, the same storehouse will serve at once for grapes and 



• The reference here is to the " Cours El§mentaire d'Aboriculture," from which 
the present account of the Thomery system is translated. M. Du Breuil there gives a 
very fuU and accurate description of a room or house for preserving fruit of all 
kinds ; the principal features of which are the provision of means whereby the 
fruit is kept at an equable temperature, free from all pressure produced by the 
fruits pressing upon each other, and free from dampness. The latter point is 
attained by keeping a vessel of chloride of calcium in the house — a substance 
which must not be confounded with chloride of lime, which would quickly destroy 
the fruit. This caution is not unnecessary, as it is only a few years since a writer 
In the " Horticulturist " recommended chloride of lime for the purpose ; having, no 
doubt, used this term under the impression that it was simpler than the word cal- 
cium. Chloride of calcium may be purchased cheaply, or it m<iy be made by dis- 
solving chalk or lime in hydrochloric acid. It must be evaporated to dryness, and 
calcined at a red heat ; after it has become moist by exposure to the air in the 
fruit room, it loses its power of absorbing moisture, and must be again dried and 
calcined, but after undergoing this process it is as good as new. Most cellars in 
American dwellings maintain a very equable temperature during winter, and it 
has occurred to us, that a small wooden press, made air tight, shelved and kept 
dry by means of chloride of calcium, would form no bad substitute for Du Breuil's 
•' Fruiterie." We h(ipe to try it next seafion. 



58 



THE THOMERY SYSTEM 



other fruits. The grapes should then be spread on shelves by 
themselves, or can be arranged in the following manner, wliich 
has the advantage of economy of space. Each bunch should 
De suspended by the point on a little hook of iron wire in the 




Fig. 37. 

form of an S (Fig. 37). Thus attached, they will be less liable 
to decay, because the berries will have a tendency to fall apart 




Fig. 38. 



OF GRAPE CULTUKi:. 



59 



from each other. The bunches are then suspended by the upper 
hook of the S, around hoops hung one over the other (Fig. 38), 
and themselves suspended from the ceiling of the room, and 
moved up and down by little pulleys. If we should wish to pre- 
serve a Inrger quantity of grapes, we may, for the sake of 
economizing space, substitute for the hoops wooden frames in 




^;i^..»fj^.;^- 



Pig. 39. 



the form of sashes, as shown in Fig. 39. These sashes are 
furnished with rods, separated from each other by an interval 
of 4 inches, and having on one side little points intended to 
receive the hooks by which the clusters are suspended. These 
sashes are hung from the ceiling in such a manner as to fill the 
entire space, and like the hoops, move up and down. However, 
the grapas thus preserved wither and lose more of their quality 
than thase preserved upon shelves. 

Dried Grapes — Raisins. — The large proportion of saccharine 
principle which the grapes of the south generally contain, ren- 
ders it easy to dry and preserve thsni. They have thus become 
the object of special attention and considerable commerce for 
some countries in the south of Europe where are cultivated the 
varieties best adapted to this purpose. We have noted the most 
Se^irable of these varieties in our list. Malaga, Calabria, Egypt, 



60 THE THOMERY SYSTEM. 

and Roquevaire in Provence are the principal places devoted to 
this culture. Zante in particular is distinguished for the Corinth 
grape, or currant. 

The process most commonly employed for the preparation of 
raisins is the following : 

"When the fruit approaches maturity, the stem of the bunch is 
twisted, and the leaves are removed in part from the branch in 
order to expose the grapes to the influence of the sun's rays, in 
order to favor the action of the essential principles and diminish 
the superfluous moisture. The grapes are gathered at the 
proper time, and the spoiled berries are carefully removed. 

After which the clusters are left upon hurdles exposed to the 
sun for one day. The next day a boiling ley is prepared from 
the ashes of the burnt viae cuttings, to which are added some 
handfuls of lavender, rosemary or other aromatic herbs. A 
bunch is plunged three times in succession into this ley. If the 
berries are slightly cracked, the ley is strong enough, but if 
they are much cracked, it is too strong. When it is properly 
prepared it is allowed to cool and settle ; it is then strained 
through a linen cloth and a second time placed over the fire. 
When it boils, each bunch is dipped into it three times in suc- 
cession. They are then spread on the hurdles, which are 
exposed to the sun during the day and taken into the house at 
night. The raisins are commonly completely dried at the end 
of two or three days. 

The Zante grapes undergo a diflferent treatment. They are 
cut some days after they have attained their complete matu- 
rity. They are deposited on hurdles very close together, or on 
cloths placed in the full sun. When the berries preserving the 
pedicle begin to be detached from the main stalk, they are 
lightly beaten with little sticks, in order to hasten this result. 
They are then passed through a sieve in order to separate them 
from the stems, and lastly subjected to the action of a fan or 
winnowing machine, in order to remove the dust and rubbish. 



I 



